Trump to announce Paris climate deal decision on Thursday

Blanca Howell |Friday, June 02, 2017

Chinese and European officials are expected to reiterate their commitment to the Paris climate accord on Thursday, while Donald Trump reportedly prepares to pull the United States out of the agreement.

Trumptweeted that "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" Abandoning the pact would isolate the US from a raft of worldwide allies who spent years negotiating the 2015 agreement to fight global warming and pollution by reducing carbon emissions in almost 200 nations.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday Trump was favoring an exit, however, and was working out terms of the planned withdrawal with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, an oil industry ally and climate change doubter.

Trump has often said the U.S. did not get a "fair deal" in the Paris accord, which was agreed upon by more than 190 countries at the initiative of his predecessor Barack Obama. Just seven months ago, Barack Obama stood in the same place and hailed an "historic" day as the Paris agreement entered into legal force. The reason is three-fold: Climate change is undeniable.

"Caring for the Earth that allows the climate to be more reliable is helping to care for those neighbors. this earth is the only one we've got so let's care for it" said Roger Dykstra, the senior pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City.

To discuss the possibilities of the US leaving the Paris Climate accord, CGTN's Elaine Reyes spoke with Tao Zhang, managing director of the green innovation and investment firm, Dao Ventures.

The U.S.is the world's second largest emitter of carbon, following only China.

And European Council President Donald Tusk took to Twitter, Trump's preferred medium, to communicate an EU-wide plea to his US-level counterpart: "Please don't change the [political] climate for the worse".

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By 1115 GMT, the dollar was just under 0.2 percent stronger at $1.1225 EUR=, compared to last week's 6-1/2 month low of $1.1268. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 239,000 in the latest week.

During his election campaign, however, Trump called global warming "a hoax" and promised to scrap the agreement and return jobs to the coal industry that is often an easy target for environmentalists.

European leaders, environmentalists and Democrats have urged Trump to stay in the Paris agreement - even though Trump already began dismantling the Obama-era policies meant to comply with the accord.

In response, European Union leaders and China have reiterated the importance of the climate change deal.

"President Trump is ceding the future to the Germans, the Chinese, the Indians, and other nations rather than having the United States continue to lead the world on clean energy solutions", said Sen.

Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angles, has urged Mr Trump to "embrace" the Paris Agreement and was among more than 70 mayors who pledged to "forge ahead even in the absence of federal support" with an open letter to the President. "Make America great again!", Trump said. Virtually every nation voluntarily committed to steps aimed at curbing global emissions of "greenhouse" gases.

"Climate change is not a fairy tale".

Carbon dioxide stays in the air for 100 years and about one-fifth of what's accumulated in the atmosphere over the last century came from the United States, more than any other country.

Finland's Prime Minister said climate change won't be reversed "by closing your eyes." and in Berlin, the head of the European Commission lectured Trump that "not everything in worldwide agreements is fake news".

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